Miss-described contracts

[garethevans1986]

So contract I applied for is a DevOps role but only had "VMWare vCloud" in the job spec (very little else), phone interview was very DevOps theoretical, Terraform, Vagrant and AWS were mentioned on the phone interview but I wasnt asked any tech specific questions.

I was offered the contract (to my surprise), I told the pimp I wanted to get more info because I really wasnt sure what tech stack the gig was, so ended up on a call with solution architect, he said "AWS, Terraform, VMWare vCloud, Ansible".

So I turn up and the gig is a Linux/Ansible role, no Terraform, AWS is with another team. My skill set is Windows Servers, TeamCity, .NET Dev, some Terraform, some Linux, CI/CD....

Anybody had anything similar before? What did you do?

Thanks in advance.
GE

[LITSM]

That is actually really surprising. Either your rates are really competitive or your interview skills are amazing to get this contract.

Personally I've been in DevOps myself for about 15 years and in all that time I have never been offered a job if I didn't have a significant overlap of skills.

[northernladuk]

The interview is a two way process. If you have doubts or any areas you need clarifying you ask them in the interview. You are also interviewing them to find out if you want to take the gig on.

You also ensure your contract has a clear statement of work which should have highlighted this. It's common sense to have one for exactly the situation you are in and for IR35 defense. Just going in with a generic job title and nothing else looks like a permie and leads to this situation.

Quite how you passed the interview and why the client picked you is a bit of a mystery to be fair. You asking questions in the interview might have helped cleared it up for both parties.

What did the client say when you got there and it turns out you are not skilled for the role?

Sounds like everyone , including yourself, holds some leave of blame here.

Can you do the gig? If not you discuss it with the client and see what they say. If you are able to hold the fort for a very short time while they find a replacement then do that. If you cannot do the gig and they bin you there and then there isn't much you can do.

You might try claiming on IPSE+ business interruption as the gig wasn't as stated but if you've nothing in writing it's going to be difficult to evidence it.

[vwdan]

Be professional, be honest. Take whoever hired you, get a proper meeting (with coffee) and explain the issue and that you're not sure if you can deliver what they need.

"Worst case" scenario is that they agree and you're done, both parties move on and never talk of it again - but that's an order of magnitude better than having a crap time of it and getting binned under a cloud.

Alternatively, they like you and appreciate your honesty and who knows what happens next.

[simes]

And, as a belt and braces before you have the above meeting, get the CV out there and have already started taking calls...

Just in case they do bin you after they understand their stack!

[sal]

It won't be the first time when a role description provided to the Agent has little resemblance to the actual role.

I have had similar, where I was hired to do DC migration of VMWare VMs, that involved a lot of mucking about within the OS, GPOs and Puppet. The OS mix was supposed to be predominantly Windows and some RHEL (reflecting my skill set and experience 80/20 Windows/Linux). The reality was more or less the reverse 20/80 Windows RHEL.

Told the hiring manager that i'm probably not the best man for the job given my lack of in-depth Linux/Puppet skills. He just smiled and told me that he was well aware of that from my interview, but liked my attitude and was happy for me to "learn on the job". He was right, managed to do all without a hitch.

Just be upfront and explain the situation. Or if the market is really terrible and you spend a lot of time on the bench - try to wing it. Part of the appeal of a contractor over permi is adaptability.

[garethevans1986]

Thanks for the replies.

That's the thing, I spoke to the architect and what he told me and what is going on are totally different too!

I spoke to the pimp on Thursday, he said he's going to speak to the client on Monday, I'm going to try and speak to them on Monday too, to find out what's going on.

I'd rather leave with a bridge intact than leave under a bad cloud. I'm hoping for a mutual agreement that I'm not a good fit skills wise and we leave it there.

I've got a few irons in the fire for now too, the calls are still coming in so can't complain.

G

[andyg]

Update to your skills

So contract I applied for is a DevOps role but only had "VMWare vCloud" in the job spec (very little else), phone interview was very DevOps theoretical, Terraform, Vagrant and AWS were mentioned on the phone interview but I wasnt asked any tech specific questions.

I was offered the contract (to my surprise), I told the pimp I wanted to get more info because I really wasnt sure what tech stack the gig was, so ended up on a call with solution architect, he said "AWS, Terraform, VMWare vCloud, Ansible".

So I turn up and the gig is a Linux/Ansible role, no Terraform, AWS is with another team. My skill set is Windows Servers, TeamCity, .NET Dev, some Terraform, some Linux, CI/CD....

Anybody had anything similar before? What did you do?

Thanks in advance.
GE

On a positive note you'll improve your Linux skills, be able to add Ansible to your list of skills. You may be able to assist the programme/project with your CI/CD knowledge. If the contract goes the distance then you will have added to your already impressive DevOps skillset and be better placed for the next gig.

[sal]

Thanks for the replies.

That's the thing, I spoke to the architect and what he told me and what is going on are totally different too!

I spoke to the pimp on Thursday, he said he's going to speak to the client on Monday, I'm going to try and speak to them on Monday too, to find out what's going on.

I'd rather leave with a bridge intact than leave under a bad cloud. I'm hoping for a mutual agreement that I'm not a good fit skills wise and we leave it there.

I've got a few irons in the fire for now too, the calls are still coming in so can't complain.

G

I wouldn't bother trying to explain the situation to the pimps. They have done their "job" and placed you with the client.

Speak to whoever is signing your timesheets, whether they are happy with the circumstances. Everyone else's opinion is largely irrelevant.

Of course if your, yourself is not happy, be polite, explain the issue and exercise the break clause in the contract.

[vwdan]

I wouldn't bother trying to explain the situation to the pimps. They have done their "job" and placed you with the client.

Speak to whoever is signing your timesheets, whether they are happy with the circumstances. Everyone else's opinion is largely irrelevant.

Of course if your, yourself is not happy, be polite, explain the issue and exercise the break clause in the contract.

Agreed. Slightly controversial perhaps, but the second I'm in the door I never go via the agent for anything apart from discussing renewals and rate increases.